Verstappen on his battle with Norris: « I tried everything to keep him behind (e)
Max Verstappen had a difficult race in Austin, finishing third after an intense battle with Lando Norris. The world champion, struggling with his tires and braking, was unable to hold his position against the McLaren driver, who ultimately received a 5-second penalty.
Max Verstappen experienced one of his most eventful Grand Prix races of the 2024 season in Austin, finishing the race in third place after an intense battle with Lando Norris. The triple world champion had to deal with understeer and braking issues throughout the race.
Starting from the front row, Verstappen quickly found himself under pressure from the first lap, an incident with Norris in the first corner. The English driver criticized him, in particular, for not making any effort to take the corner and for pushing him off the track. Although he stayed on track and therefore did not break the rules. This incident allowed Charles Leclerc, behind the wheel of his Ferrari, to take the lead in the race.
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Verstappen then maintained his position for much of the race, but technical difficulties began to arise. "For me, it was a really tough race. I never really had the pace to attack," explained Verstappen after the race. "It was quite different from yesterday, I had a lot of understeer and braking difficulties. This made defense quite complicated, because every time someone wanted to try an overtake, I couldn't really brake late."
The situation got particularly complicated in the final laps, when Norris, equipped with fresher tires, came back strong and on the 52nd lap, finally managed to overtake Verstappen at turn 12, but by going off track limits. He must give back the position, Verstappen immediately demanded on his team radio. The stewards eventually ruled in favor of the Dutchman by imposing a 5-second penalty on Norris.
Despite this eventful end of the race, Verstappen remained measured regarding the events of the race. « I have my opinion but I don't need to say it here. I will let the stewards do their job. For us, it was still a race where we learned a lot and we will analyze all of that. »
The United States Grand Prix marks a performance below expectations for Verstappen and Red Bull who started on the front row. The Dutch driver prefers to focus on the lessons to be learned and on his third place: "I tried everything to keep him behind and because in the end he had to be on the podium, I think it's still a good result."
This result in Austin comes as the competition for the constructors' championship tightens, with Ferrari achieving a one-two finish that brings them within eight points of Red Bull in the title race.
Lire aussi: La pénalité de Lando Norris fait débat
